France upholds cage ban; IMMAF member promises legal challenge

A new set of rules implemented by the French government has effectively banned MMA, leading the country’s MMA federation to threaten a legal challenge.

The French Sports Ministry announced Wednesday new guidelines for combat sports events held in the country, and they’re not MMA friendly, according to multiple media reports.

Outlawed are several techniques already considered illegal in the unified rules of MMA, such as groin strikes, hair-pulling and biting. But the guidelines also disallow strikes on the ground and require that contests take place within a ring and not a cage, ruling out a UFC event.

This past fall, a cage was used for an MMA event utilizing the sport’s widely accepted ruleset with the exception of elbow strikes. In response, the ministry’s leader threatened to take action in the form of sanctions.

In 2013, the ministry upheld a ban on using a cage for combat sports events, bolstering opposition from the women’s sports federation, after now-former UFC Chairman Lorenzo Fertitta promised to make inroads in the country.

Bertrand Amoussou, who heads the IMMAF-certified Commission Francaise de Mixed Martial Arts, or CFMMA, believed there was a “loophole” that would allow promoters to use cages. But today’s ruling show’s the government is still pushing back.

Amoussou today told Sky Sports, “The Ministry takes us for idiots. All countries have recognized MMA in Europe, except France and Norway. I hoped it would not come to this, but the CFMMA will launch a legal action to contest this decree.”

A request to the UFC for comment on France’s new combat sports rules was not immediately returned. Amoussou wasn’t available for comment.

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The adversarial relationship between the sport and its participants has led many French fighters to train in America. Perhaps the country’s most famous MMA export, Bellator heavyweight Cheick Kongo, is now based in Southern California. In a previous interview with MMAjunkie, Paris native Kongo pined for a chance to fight for a title in his native country.

“People think … it’s a messy sport just for bullies, or people (who fight) with no skills,” he said. “We’ve got no respect, no control, no anything. No rules. And they keep the old UFC in mind.”

“When we have the time to share a good discussion about the subject, they will learn and realize that we’re just different.”

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On March 19, 2011, 23-year-old Jon Jones brutalized UFC light heavyweight champion “Shogun” Rua to become the youngest titleholder in UFC history. But for Jones, it was only the start of a wild ride that at times spun out of control.